Field of the Disclosure
The following is directed to bonded abrasive articles, and more particularly, bonded abrasive articles including abrasive particles contained within a bond material including a metal or metal alloy.
Description of the Related Art
Abrasives used in machining applications typically include bonded abrasive articles and coated abrasive articles. Coated abrasive articles are generally layered articles having a backing and an adhesive coat to fix abrasive particles to the backing, the most common example of which is sandpaper. Bonded abrasive tools consist of rigid, and typically monolithic, three-dimensional, abrasive composites in the form of wheels, discs, segments, mounted points, hones and other tool shapes, which may be mounted onto a machining apparatus, such as a grinding or polishing apparatus.
Bonded abrasive tools usually have at least two phases including abrasive particles and bond material. Certain bonded abrasive articles may have an additional phase in the form of porosity. Bonded abrasive tools may be manufactured in a variety of ‘grades’ and ‘structures’ that have been defined according to practice in the art by the relative hardness and density of the abrasive composite (grade) and by the volume percentage of abrasive grain, bond, and porosity within the composite (structure).
Some bonded abrasive tools may be particularly useful in grinding and shaping certain types of workpieces, including for example, metals, ceramics and crystalline materials, used in the electronics and optics industries. In other instances, certain bonded abrasive tools may be used in shaping of superabrasive materials for use in industrial applications. In the context of grinding and shaping certain workpieces with metal-bonded abrasive articles, generally the process involves a significant amount of time and labor directed to maintaining the bonded abrasive article. That is, generally, metal-bonded abrasive articles require regular truing and dressing operations to maintain the grinding capabilities of the abrasive article.
The industry continues to demand improved methods and articles capable of grinding.